Engine with die-cast static parts



July 28, .1970

Filed Sept. 17, 1968 A. CELL] ENGINE WITH DIE-CAST STATIC PARTS 6Sheets-Sheet 1 lZZ INVENTOR.

ALDO CEL.l- I BY ATTORNEYS July 28, 1970 A. CELL! ENGINE WITH DIE-CASTSTATIC PARTS 6 Sheets$heet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1968 INVENTOR.

ALDO CELLI ATTORNEYS July 28, 1970 A. CELLI ENGINE WITH DIE-CAST STATICPARTS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 17, 1968 6 6 7 7 w m R. l 011 I 1 TL11 1 NL a 2 1! 1 We m m c 7 V I O l I H w l O n mm A 8 1 L e I 5 AG 0/ Oz o 5 o 0 X #:H k i x o a I J m I- I I e 8 w v w a 1 T:

@m da ATTORNEYS July 28, 1970 CE ENGINE WITH DIE-CAST STATIC PARTS 6Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Sept. 17, 1968 INVENTOR.

' A L DO C E LL ATTORNEYS July 28, 1970 A. CELLI ENGINE WITH DIE-CASTSTATIC PARTS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 17, 1968 INVENTOR.

ALDO CELLI ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,521,613 ENGINE WITH DIE-CASTSTATIC PARTS Aldo Celli, 601 Fisher Bldg., Detroit, Mich. 48202 FiledSept. 17, 1968, Ser. No. 760,160 Int. Cl. F02f 7/00; F01] 1/00 US. Cl.123195 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An internal combustionengine of the liquid-cooled type wherein the static parts of the engineare designed to be made as die castings. The engine includes a crankcasewith water jacketed cylinder castings individually mounted thereon. Thevalve timing mechanism is enclosed in a cast housing supported above thecylinders on a pair of brackets extending upwardly from the oppositeends of the crankcase. The interior of the crankcase is formed with aplurality of partition walls centrally apertured to receive bearingdiscs in which the crankshaft is journalled. The bearing discs areclamped in position in the partition walls by bolts extendingtransversely through the crankcase to impart rigidity to the entirecrankcase assembly.

This invention relates to an internal combustion engine and moreparticularly to the design and arrangement of the static parts of aliquid-cooled, four-cycle, internal combustion engine.

Present day practice in the automotive industry in the manufacture ofliquid-cooled, four-cycle engines involves the fabrication of many ofthe static parts of the engine as castings made from sand molds, shellmolds or permanent molds. The use of such castings, particularly sandmold castings, results in an engine which is relatively heavy and which,because of the necessarily relatively slow production rate and theextensive machinin required on such castings, renders such enginesunnecessarily costly.

It has been recognized that such engines can be made lighter and lesscostly if the static parts can be die cast. Die-cast engine blocks havebeen produced with some degree of success but their use has not beenwidespread, particularly in the automotive industry, because, unless theindustry can convert entirely to die casting of all the static parts ofan engine, a partial conversion to die-cast parts for the engine is noteconomically justified.

It is an object of this invention to provide a liquidcooled, four-cycleengine of light weight and which can be manufactured economically.

More specifically, the invention has for its object the provision of aliquid-cooled, four-cycle engine the static parts of which are designedand arranged so that they can be die cast.

Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an engine according to thepresent invention taken generally along the line 11 in FIG. 4 and withparts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the engine taken generallyalong the line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front end view of the engine with parts broken away.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 77 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 88 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along the line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

3,521 ,613 Patented July 28, 1970 i CC FIG. 10 is a sectional view alongthe line 10--10 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view generally along the line 11-11 in FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the engine includes a crankcase 10 formed asa die casting and having two rows of cylinder extensions 12 castintegrally with the top wall thereof. The two rows of extensions 12 areinclined at a narrow V and are staggered as shown in FIG. 11. On theupper face of each cylinder extension 12 there is secured a die-castcylinder 14. Cylinders 14 have inner linings 16 cast bonded to thecylindrical wall 18 thereof. Each cylinder 14 is piloted in itsrespective cylinder extension 12 by the extended liner 16 and is mountedon the crankcase by studs 20 threaded into lugs 22 (FIG. 11) over theends of which nuts 24 are threaded. Within the bore formed by each liner16 there is arranged a piston 26 which is connected by a connecting rod28 to a crankshaft 30 journalled in crankcase 10.

Each cylinder casting 14 is formed with a top wall or head 32 adjacentits upper end and each head 32 is formed with an inlet port 34, anoutlet port 36 and a combustion chamber recess 38. Around each inletport 34 there is integrally cast an inlet pipe 40 adapted for connectionwith an inlet manifold 42. Around each outlet port 36 there isintegrally cast an outlet pipe 44 adapted for connection with an exhaustmanifold 46. Each cylinder casting 14 is surrounded by a cap casting 48which is spaced from the side wall 18 of cylinder 14 and forms a waterjacket chamber 50 around each cylinder. Cap casting 48 is press fittedat its lower end over a shoulder 52 adjacent the lower end of casting 14and is press fitted at its upper end over a shoulder 54 formed on acircular flange 56 cast integrally with cylinder 14 above the head 32.Suitable seals are provided for rendering these joints liquid tight.Each cylinder 14 is also formed with a recessed boss 58 adapted forreception of an ignition device such as a spark plug 60. Each inletmanifold 42 accommodates a fuel injector 61 for admitting fuel to thecombustion chamber of each cylinder. In place of fuel injectors one ormore carburetors may be employed.

Inlet and exhaust ports 34, 36, respectively, are controlled by valves62 the stems of which extend upwardly through sleeves 64 press fittedinto bosses '66 which are cast integrally with cylinder castings 1-4.The valve guide bosses 66 protrude upwardly from flange 56 and extendthrough openings 68 in the lower die-cast section 70 of a valve trainhousing 72. Oil leakage through openings 68 is prevented by rubber boots69. Valve train housing 72 also has a die-cast upper section 74 which issecured to the lower section 70 by studs 76. A gasket 78 is providedbetween the adjoining faces of sections 70 and 74 of the valve trainhousing to prevent leakage of oil from the housing. Upper section 74 ofhousing 72 is formed with bearing sockets 80 at opposite ends and at thecenter thereof (FIG. 7) in which a camshaft 82 is journalled. In a moreor less conventional manner the cam lobes 84 on camshaft 82 are adaptedwhen rotated to engage rocker arms 86 to actuate valves 62. One end ofeach rocker arm 86 is engaged by a hydraulic backlash adjuster 88- whichurges the rocker arm against the cam lobe 84.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 8 and 11, crankcase 10 has upright brackets90, 92 cast integrally therewith at the front and rear ends,respectively, thereof. Brackets 90, 92 extend upwardly to a level abovetop walls 56 of cylinders 14. The lower section 70 of valve trainhousing 72 is seated at its opposite ends on brackets 90, 92 and issecured thereto by the two pairs of studs 76 at the opposite ends ofvalve train housing 72. The pair of studs 76 at the central portion ofhousing 72 merely serve to secure the upper section 74 of housing 72 onthe lower section 70 whereas the studs 76 at the opposite ends of thehousing (FIG. 7) serve to secure the housing as a whole on brackets 90,92 and to secure the upper section 74 on the lower section 7 The uppersection 74 of housing 72 is formed with flanged opening 93 for receivinga breather cap 94.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 8, crankcase is generally rectangularlyshaped and has a top wall 95 and side walls 96. An oil pan 98 closes thebottom open side of crankcase 10. The front end of crankcase 10 isfashioned with a circular opening 100 closed by a cover plate 102. Therear end of crankcase 10 is formed with a circular flywheel housing 104which is centrally apertured as at 106. Internally crankcase 10 isformed with a plurality of transverse partitions 108 which are centrallyapertured as at 110 to receive bearing discs 112. Each bearing disc 112comprises two half sections 114, 116 which, when secured together as bystuds 118, form a main bearing 120 within which the bearing portions 122of crankshaft 30 are seated. The disc sections 114, 116 are arranged onthe bearing portions 122 of crankcase 30 before the crankshaft isinserted in crankcase 10' through the opening 100 in the front wallthereof. Each partition 108 includes a pair of spaced side walls whichextend transversely of the crankcase from the side walls 96 thereof tothe annular boss 128 which defines the circular opening 110 in eachpartition. Boss 128 at the bottom side of opening 110 is formed as asleeve 130 which is radially slotted as at 132. A plurality of bolts 134extend transversely through the side walls 96 of the crankcase betweenthe walls 124 of each partition 108 and each sleeve 130. When the nuts136 on the ends of bolts 134 are tightened, each bearing disc 112 isfirmly clamped within the circular boss 128 on partitions 108 andextreme rigidity is imparted to the crankcase as a whole. For thepurpose of locating each bearing disc 112 in its proper rotativeposition within the apertures 110 dowel pins 138 are provided. Thus thecrankshaft is solidly supported in crankcase 10 at each of its bearingportions 122 by the cross walls on partitions 108. The spaces betweenpartitions 108 accommodate the counterweights 140 on the crankshaft andthe connecting rods 28.

A flywheel 142 is secured to the rear end of crankshaft 30 as by screws144. The flywheel has a series of permanent magnets 14 6 mounted thereonto form an alternator. Starting of the engine is accomplished by meansof a conventional starter 148 (FIGS. 7 and 11) which is mounted oncrankcase 10 and flywheel housing 104.

On the front end of crankshaft 30 exteriorly of cover plate 102 there iskeyed a pulley 150* engaged by a timing belt 152 and a second pulley 154engaged by a belt 156. Belt 156 is also trained around a pulley 158mounted on a cooling fan 1 60. The shaft 162 on which fan is mountedalso drives an impeller 164 of a water pump 166. Timing belt 152 extendsaround a pulley 168 (FIGS. 4 and 7) at the front end of camshaft 82.Timing belt 152 also extends around a third pulley 170 (FIG. 6) whichdrives a shaft 172. Shaft 172 in turn drives suitable gearing 174 (FIG.8) for providing a drive to distributor 176, an oil pump 178 and a fuelinjection pump 180 (FIGS. 7 and 8), all of which are supported on a sidewall of crankcase 10 by a mounting plate 181. The pulleys around whichtiming belt 152 is trained and water pump 166 are shielded by a cover182.

Water pump 166 has an inlet duct 184 and an outlet port 186. A pair ofbranch conduits 188 formed in front bracket 90 extend from outlet port186 downwardly toward each side of crankcase 10 as shown in FIG. 6 andcommunicate with cored passageways 190 extending along each side ofcrankcase 10. As shown in FIG. 1, each cylinder extension 12 formedintegrally with the top wall of crankcase 10 has a vertical passageway192 therein which at its lower end communicates with passageway 194 atthe lower end of cylinder casting 14. Passageway 194 communicates withthe water jacket chamber 50. As the water is directed upwardly betweencylinder casting 14 and cylinder cap casting 48 the cylinder is cooledand the water is directed outwardly of water jacket chamber 50 throughan outlet spout 196 formed integrally with cap casting 48. The outletspouts 196 are connected by hoses 198 to water manifold tubes 200extending along each side of the engine (FIG. 6). The water manifoldtubes 200 connect with a thermostat 202 at the front of the engine whichdirects the Water either to a radiator (not shown) through an outlet 204or back to the water pump through a bypass 206. The outlet of theradiator is connected by a hose 208 with the inlet duct 184 of waterpipe 166.

Oil pump 178 has an inlet passageway 210 which communicates with a coredpassageway 212 in crankcase 10. A conduit 214 extends from screenedintake member 216 in oil pan 98 to passageway 212 for supplying oil tothe pump. The outlet passageway 218 of pump 178 extends to a coredpassageway 220 extending longitudinally along one side of crankcase 10.Branch passageways 222 are designed for supplying oil to bearing discs112 which in turn, through suitable passageways in the crankshaft,direct oil to the bearings of the crankshaft. Another branch conduit 224(FIG. 8) extends to a vertical passageway 226 formed in end brack 92 onwhich the rear end of the valve train housing 72 is supported. At itsupper end passageway 226 registers with a longitudinally extendingpassageway 228 in the lower section 70 of housing 72. Suitable branchpassageways communicate with the longitudinally extending passageway 228for supplying oil to the backlash adjusters 88 and the bearings ofcamshaft 82. Oil is drained from housing 72 down to the crankcasethrough a discharge passageway 230 (FIGS. 4 and 11) which is formed inend bracket 90 on which the front end of valve train housing 72 issupported.

The advantages of the above described engine construction are apparent.It will be observed that all the static parts of the engine are ideallysuited for die casting. These cast parts, particularly cylinder castings14 which are the most intricate, are not formed with undercuts and,accordingly, permit straight withdrawal of the metallic cores of thedies. Since the parts can be die cast, the section thickness required toaccommodate the stresses encountered are reduced, thus saving on metalcosts and making the engine substantially lighter.

Further metal savings are obtained by staggering the cylinders in thetwo rows as illustrated in FIG. 11, thus shortening the camshaft and thecrankshaft and as a result shortening the entire engine. The individualcylinder construction improves heat dissipation due to both liquidcooling of the cylinders and also heat dissipation by radiation fromaround the entire periphery of each cylinder. The individual cylinderconstruction minimizes the cost of casting and tooling and also the costof rejections since only faulty casting represents only one cylinder asdistinguished from a cylinder :block containing six cylinders as in thecase of a sand casting. The cost of machining the casting is alsoreduced because of the precision casting techniques involved in diecasting and the resultant minimum stop removal required.

The lack of undercut surfaces and blind holes and bores in the castingshas the further advantage of enabling impregnation and treatment forother types of surface protection easy to accomplish and to control.

The engine as described herein also has the advantage of eliminating theneed for many closely controlled tolerances. Valve train housing 72 iscompletely isolated from the individual cylinders 14. The manufacturingtolerances at the joint faces of brackets 90, 92 and lower housingsection 70 can be relatively large because this will not affect timing.Dimensional variations will be accomodated by the backlash hydraulicvalve adjusters 88. The crankshaft-camshaft center line distance is notcritical because a slight variation in this distance results only inslightly different inclinations of the rocker arms 86 and this will notaffect timing of the engine. Timing of the engine is likewise notaffected by a slight variation in the angular disposition of thecylinder axes because the lack of exact coincidence of valve stem centerlines and the center of curvature of the rocker arm tips does notappreciably affect valve timing. At most this will cause only a slightvariation in rocker arm lever ratios which might produce a slightdifference in the valve opening but will not affect valve timing.Manufacturing tolerances of the cylinders, crankcase or the valve trainwill not affect valve timing because the holes in which the valve stemguides 64 are press fitted will be drilled and reamed in bosses 66 aftertemporary assembly of the cylinders on the crankcase and and temporaryassembly of the valve train housing 72 on brackets 90, 92. Thistemporary assembly assures exact positioning of the valves relative tothe tips of the rocker arms 86 in final assembly of the engine.

I claim:

1. A liquid-cooled internal combustion engine comprising a crankcasecasting having a top wall, a plurality of individual cylinder-formingcastings secured to said top Wall, e"ach cylinder casting having agenerally cylindrical side .wall and a top wall, said top wall having anintake port and an exhaust port therein, ducts extending upwardly fromsaid intake and exhaust ports, said cylinder casting also having awall-forming flange spaced above said top wall and connected to said topwall by said ducts and a cylinder cap casting surrounding said cylindercasting, said cylinder cap casting having a side wall spaced radiallyoutwardly from the side wall of the cylinder casting and extendingupwardly beyond the top wall of the cylinder casting, means forming asealed connection between the lower end portion of the cap casting andthe lower portion of the cylinder casting and means forming a sealedconnection between the upper end portion of the cap casting and saidwall-forming flange whereby to form a cooling chamber surrounding theside wall and top wall of each cylinder.

2. An engine as called for in claim 1 wherein said intake and exhaustports extend upwardly beyond said wallforming flange.

3. An engine as called for in claim 1 including a pair of hollow bossesformed on said wall-forming flange and aligned axially one with saidintake port and the other with said exhaust port, valves controllingeach of said ports and having stems projecting upwardly through andslideably guided in said hollow bosses.

4. An engine as called for in claim 1 wherein the top wall of saidcrankcase casting is formed with a plurality of cylindrical extensionsprojecting upwardly from said top wall, said cylinder castings beingmounted on the upper ends of said extensions, a cylinder liningextending axially within each extension and its associated cylindercasting and a piston arranged for reciprocation in said liner.

5. An engine as called for in claim 1 including means forming a coolantpassageway extending along each side of the crankcase, each of saidcylinder castings having a passageway in the lower portion thereinestablishing com- .munication between said coolant passageways and thecoolant chambers surrounding each cylinder.

6. An engine as called for in claim 5 wherein each cylinder cap castinghas a coolant outlet adjacent its upper end.

7. An engine as called for in claim 1 wherein said cylinder castings arearranged on the crankcase in two staggered rows with the axes of thecylinders in one row inclined to the axes of the cylinders in the otherrow to provide a V arrangement of cylinders.

8. An engine as called for in claim 7 wherein each of said cylinder andcap castings is spaced from the adjacent cylinder and cap castings sothat the entire circumferential extent of each cylinder is exposed tothe surrounding atmosphere to assist in heat dissipation.

9. An engine as called for in claim 1 including a valve train housingremovably supported on said crankcase above said cylinders andindependently of said cylinder and cylinder cap castings, valvescontrolling said intake and exhaust ports of each cylinder, said valveshaving stems projecting upwardly through said top wall and into saidvalve train housing, a camshaft journalled in said valve train housingand a rocker arm assembly in said valve train housing operativelyinterconnecting the stems of said valves and said camshaft.

'10. An engine as called for in claim 9 including a pair of hollowbosses on said wall-forming flange of each cylinder casting and alignedaxially one with the intake port and the other with the exhaust port,said valve stems being slideably guided for reciprocation in saidbosses.

11. An engine as called for in claim 9 including a support bracketextending upwardly from each'end of the crankcase, said valve trainhousing being mounted on the upper ends of said support brackets.

12. An engine as called for in claim 9 wherein said valve train housingcomprises an upper section and a lower section which are separable, saidupper section having a plurality of bearing sockets formed therein andspaced lengthwise thereof, said cam shaft being journalled in saidbearing sockets.

13. A liquid-cooled internal combustion engine comprising a crankcasecasting having side walls and a top wall, a plurality of individualcylinder-forming castings mounted on the top wall of the crankcase, eachcylinder casting having an intake port and an exhaust port and conduitsextending upwardly from said ports, a valve train housing supported onsaid crankcase independently of said cylinder castings, valvescontrolling said intake and exhaust ports, said valves having stemsprojecting upwardly from said cylinder castings and into said valvetrain housing and means within said valve train housing for operatingsaid valves.

14. A liquid-cooled internal combustion engine comprising a crankcasecasting having side walls and a top wall, said top wall having aplurality of openings therein, a plurality of individualcylinder-forming castings secured on said top wall one over each of saidopenings, said crankcase having a purality of transverse partition wallsextending between the side walls thereof, eachof said partition wallshaving a central opening therein, a split bearing disc removablyretained in each of said central openings, a crankshaft having mainbearing portions journalled in said bearing discs, said crankshaftshaving cranks thereon, a piston mounted in each cylinder casting forreciprocation and connecting rods connecting each piston with the crankson the crankshaft.

15. An engine as called for in claim 14 wherein said crankshaft hascounterweights thereon extending radially from the axis of rotation ofthe crankshaft, each of said central openings having a radius at leastas large as the radial extent of said counterweights.

16. An engine as called for in claim 15 wherein the crankcase has an endwall provided with an opening sufficient in size to accommodate axialinsertion of the crankshaft with the bearing discs mounted thereon.

17. An engine as called for in claim 15 wherein each partition wall hasa slot therein extending from the lower edge portion of the wall to theperiphery of the central opening therein and means for drawing the edgesof said slots toward each other to clamp the bearing discs in saidcentral openings.

18. An engine as called for in claim 17 wherein said last-mentionedmeans comprise bolts extending between the side walls of the crankcaseat each of said partitions.

19. An engine as called for in claim 18 wherein each partition wallcomprises a pair of spaced side walls extending inwardly from the sidewalls of the crankcase and connected by an annular boss extending aroundthe periphery of said central opening.

20. An engine as called for in claim 19 wherein said bolts are disposedbetween said spaced partition side walls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Freyn 92-149 Dolza 92-147 Dolza123-195 Sampietro et a1. 92-147 Kolbe et a1. 123-4182 WENDELL E. BURNS,Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

Herschrnann 123-195 10 92-147, 161, 261; 123-41.81, 9O

